Sermon preached by Pastor Larry Brincefield on Sunday, December 5, 2004 at Belleview Church of the Nazarene
Title: Jesus the Sustainer with us.
Text: John 6:29-40
Introduction
1. A little boy named Billy was taking to his mother after church…
He said, “my Sunday School teacher told me that God is everywhere, is that true?”
He mother said, “that’s right Billy”…
He went on and said, “Is God up in the sky?”…
And his mom said, “yes, I’m sure He is”….
Then Billy asked, “Is God in my belly?”
Now mom wasn’t quite sure where all this was going…
And she didn’t quite know how to answer him…
So she said, “well, I’m not sure, but I guess He is”…
Billy thought for a moment…and then said,
“Mommy, God wants a cookie”.
2. Christmas is a time for fun, celebration, decorations, and eating!!
I’ve read that the average person gains 10 pounds from Halloween until New Years.
That’s quite a load, isn’t it?
But, as one fast food commercial was always trying to tell us “you gotta eat”.
3. Last week, we talked about Jesus is the Creator…
And He is with us…
And that is the story of Christmas…
Jesus not only created all the world…
And all the life therein…
But He came to earth in the form of a baby in the manger…
And He continued to bring order from the chaos.
And He is still doing the same thing today…
He takes the darkness, the chaos, and pain, and the emptiness…
And gives us peace, and comfort, and love and forgiveness.
4. This morning, I’d like to talk to you about Jesus, the Sustainer, is with us.
Read Text: John 6:24-41
1. Jesus Sustains the World
A. There are some people who believe in God as Creator…
But they believe that God just set everything in motion…
Applied all the laws of science and physics…
And left the world to fend for itself…
And that God hasn’t had much to do with the world since creation.
B. But Jesus, as God, continues to be in this world…
Maintaining it…
And sustaining it.
Colossians chapter 1 says,
“He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
Jesus not only created all things…
He holds them together…
In Psalm 75:3, God says, “When the earth and all its people quake, it is I who hold its pillars firm.”
Jesus, as God, is holding this old world together.
If Jesus would stop for one instant in His labors of holding this world together…
It would just fly apart from end to end.
In John 5:17, Jesus says, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.”
He working to sustain our world…
He doesn’t sleep…
He doesn’t take a vacation…
He is ALWAYS on the job!
He is maintaining His wonders of creation…
In spite of the efforts of man to tear it apart…
Jesus is holding it all together.
Let me give you one more Scriptural proof of Jesus the Sustainer, Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. ”
C. In the beginning was the Word,
His Name is Jesus…
And He not only created this world…
But He sustains it and maintains it…
By the power of His Word.
2. Jesus Sustains Us
A. Jesus not only sustains the world…
But He sustains us.
In the early part of John chapter 6,…
Jesus feeds over 5,000 people…
He provided them with physical sustenance in the form of an all you can eat bread and seafood buffet.
He also provided them spiritual sustenance…
With His teachings.
The next day, after Jesus fed them…
Jesus had gone on to the other side of the lake without them knowing…
The people, not finding Jesus, went in search of Him…
When they found Him…
They started talking to Him about how God provided manna in the wilderness…
And they were giving Jesus a not-to-subtle hint that…
Although they were full after the buffet…
They were now hungry again…
And they wanted Jesus to miraculously provide for another meal…
Jesus tells them, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
B. Jesus knew that all they wanted was the physical food…
They wanted more physical nourishment…
And there is certainly nothing wrong with nourishing our bodies…
But when you get right down to it…
Between nourishing our bodies…
And nourishing our spirits…
Nourishing our spirits is so much more important.
And these people were after the physical nourishment…
But had no interest in the spiritual nourishment.
C. Jesus told them that He was the “Bread of Life”…
He said, “He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”
And when the people realized that Jesus wasn’t going to be providing any more free food…
And that the all-you-can-eat buffet was closed that day…
They started to grumble…
They started to murmur and complain.
They cared more for the food…
Then they did for their souls.
3. Remember Jesus the Sustainer at Christmas
A. Nothing wrong with wanting to eat…
As I said, “you gotta eat”…
I know there are people who are poor…
And they don’t get enough to eat…
But I dare say that here in America…
the people who overindulge…
Far outnumber the people who don’t get enough to eat.
And I also dare to say that we live in a time and a place…
Where people are so well fed physically…
But they are so under-fed spiritually.
B. People today are just like those people in John chapter 6.
“yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah…Jesus this Jesus that…
But where’s the food”
We are always searching for a new restaurant…
And a new bigger and better buffet…
Now don’t misunderstand me…
I like to eat just as much as the next person…
But the problem is…
When we care more about where we are going to eat…
Than we do where are we going to worship…
The problem is …
when we care more about getting our stomachs full…
Than we do about getting our spirits full.
People are starving for satisfaction…
And food, nor sex, nor pleasure, nor recreation…
Will provide that satisfaction…
Only Jesus is the Bread of Life…
Partake of Him and you will never hunger and never thirst.
Conclusion
1. And that’s an important message that we need to hear…
Especially at Christmas…
When Jesus was with God in the beginning…
He didn’t just create everything and leave it go…
He continues to sustain it and maintain it, even today.
And when He saves us…
He doesn’t just leave us to go and try to make our own way…
He continues to work in our lives….helping us along our way…
2. Christmas time is a wonderful time of year…
Fun, food, family, friends…
I certainly encourage you to enjoy all that the holidays have to offer…
But I want to caution you too…
Don’t seek after the physical nourishment…
At the neglect of the spiritual nourishment…
When it comes right down to it…
The Spiritual nourishment is far more important…
If you don’t get enough physical nourishment….
It will mean that eventually you will enter into eternity…
But if you don’t get enough spiritual nourishment…
That helps determine WHERE you will spend eternity.
Don’t’ misunderstand me…
It’s not a question of one or the other…
It’s a question of balance…
Far to often, even at Christmas time…
I worry that people neglect their spiritual health…
3. When Jesus came to this earth in the form of a little baby…
It was part of His sustaining work…
He came and poured out His life’s blood upon this earth…
Much like the blood of animals was poured out upon the altar of sacrifice…
And by the sacrifice of Jesus…
He is continuing that sustaining work in our lives…
He sustains us and maintains us when He created us…
And He sustains our bodies by providing us nourishment that we need…
And that sustenance continues…
As He sustains our soul by providing for our salvation…
4. But, we can only receive the proper nourishment from Him…
If we will receive Him into our hearts…
And allow Him to nourish and sustain our spirits on an ongoing basis…
without that nourishment…
Our spirits would shrivel and die…
5. Last week, I said that I hoped that we could look back to the manger and see more than Jesus as a little baby…
But that we could also see that Jesus, the Creator is with us…
And I would like to continue that thought today…
As we look at the Baby in the manger…
I trust that we will celebrate Emmanuel…
Jesus the Sustainer is with us…
He certainly wants to sustain our bodies…
But even more than that…
He wants to sustain our spirit.
And He is here today…
Jesus the Sustainer is here this morning…
If you are feeling a little empty…
Not in your stomach…
But in your spirit…
Jesus is here to fill the emptiness…
If you are feeling hungry…
Not for food that eventually will rot…
But for the Bread of Life that completely satisfies…
The Bread of Life is here to feed you this morning.
Jesus, the Sustainer is with us.
I was inspired for this sermon by “The Herschel Hobbs Commentary” by Herschel Hobbs. Oct-Dec. 1995
